Playground Pop Stars

It's up to you.

14 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Prepare the whites and separate the sugars

   Take 2 eggs. Break them one by one over a small bowl and separate the white from the yolk by passing the yolk between the two half-shells; pour each clean white into a second bowl. No piece of yolk should remain in the whites. Weigh 60 g of whites for this recipe and keeps the yolks in the refrigerator for another preparation. Prepare a perfectly clean and dry bowl to whip them. Weigh 160 g of icing sugar for meringue and keeps the extra 20 g in a small cup to spread the dough; these two amounts do not have the same use.

2. Start whisking the egg whites

   Pour the 60 g of white into the bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer at medium speed until a white foam without visible liquid at the bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes. Then move to a slightly higher speed. Whip should leave traces in the foam, but it is not necessary to beat very firm whites before adding the sugar.

3. Add the sugar gradually

   Add the 160 g of icing sugar in small spoonfuls, while continuing to whisk. Once scrape the walls then beat until a white meringue, shiny and thick. When you lift the stopped beaters, a tip should hold for a few seconds without falling back down immediately. This usually takes 3 to 5 minutes after the beginning of the addition of sugar.

4. Reserve the icing before adding the almonds

   Take three tablespoons of this meringue and put them in a small covered bowl in the refrigerator: they will be used to whiten the tops. In the remaining meringue, pour 250 g of ground almonds and 6 g of cinnamon. Add the 10 ml of lemon juice and mix with the spatula, from bottom to top, until you see no more powder pocket-size.

5. Firming the dough

   Gather the dough in the bowl without kneading it for a long time. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. It remains naturally sticky because of almonds and meringue: do not add flour to make it dry. After resting, it must be able to be flattened between two sheets of paper without spreading on its own.

6. Spread to eight millimeters

   Preheat the oven to 150°C in conventional oven setting (no fan) and places an oven rack in the bottom third. Saupowder lightly a sheet of baking paper with a portion of the reserved 20 g of icing sugar, lay the dough then powder slightly on top. Cover with a second sheet and spreads on the roll to 8 mm of regular thickness; keeps the rest of the sugar to peel and cut.

7. Cut twenty-four stars

   Gently peel off the top sheet and plunge the edge of the 5 cm star cookie cutter into the reserved icing sugar. Press vertically, lift and release the dough around without pulling on the tips. Collect the offcuts and spread them out again to get 24 stars. Uses only the sugar necessary for take-off; the surplus can remain in the cup.

8. Spread the reserved icing

   Slide a spatula under each star and place it on the baking sheet, with 2 cm of space around it. Take the three spoons of reserved meringue and distribute them in small quantities on the 24 tops. Spread with the back of a small spoon to the branches, in a thin layer, without leaving large runs on the sides.

9. Cook keeping the top white

   Bake 12 to 14 minutes at 150 °C in the bottom third. The icing should look dry to the very light touch but remain white; the sponge should still look a bit supple. If the top begins to color, remove the plate rather than extending it to harden the center. The stars are mostly firming after the oven is out.

10. Waiting for full cooling

    Leave the stars on their plate for about 45 minutes. Do not take them off when they are hot, as their spikes could break. They are ready for decoration when the underside is cold and the spatula lifts them from a single block. Prepare the chocolates only at this time so that they adhere without melting or softening the icing.

11. Mix white chocolate and strawberry

    Chop 60 g of white chocolate with a knife and put it in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Place the bowl on a saucepan containing 2 cm of barely simmering water, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Stir gently with the spatula and remove the bowl as soon as the pieces are almost melted; continue to stir off the heat. Wipe the bottom of the bowl before moving it: no drop of water should enter the chocolate. Incorporate the 5 g of lyophilized strawberry powder in a spatula, crushing the small clumps against the bowl. The mixture should be pink and flexible enough to spread with a spoon. If it thickens as it cools, briefly rest the bowl on the warm bath; add neither water nor juice.

12. Draw the two pink stripes

    Lay cold stars on baking paper, white icing up. With the back of a small spoon or a cornet with a slightly wide opening, draw two diagonal pink stripes on each top, leaving a visible white stripe between them. Divide the pink chocolate between the 24 cookies without covering all the branches. Let it take 20 minutes before the black outline.

13. Draw the sticker effect

    Chop 20 g of dark chocolate with a knife and put it in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Place the bowl on a saucepan containing 2 cm of barely simmering water, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Stir gently with the spatula and remove the bowl as soon as the pieces are almost melted; continue to stir off the heat. Wipe the bottom of the bowl before moving it: no drop of water should enter the chocolate. Pour the chocolate into a small cone. On each star, follow only the edges of two adjacent branches to form a thick and simple black outline; stop before going all around. These two contours must contrast with the pink, without masking the white icing or flowing under the cookie.

14. Let take the reliefs and store

    Wait about 30 minutes until the strips and contours are firm. Lift the stars by their base with a spatula, without pinching a tip, and then store them in a box with a sheet of paper between the layers. Pick up any chocolate leftovers on paper to harden and reuse, rather than multiplying the traits.